Some Kind of Wonderful
by zulka
Summary: [KaixHiromi AU] Re-posted. All Hiromi wanted to do was finish her last year of high school, and run away from her mother by choosing a university far far away. But her carefully crafted plans suffer a setback when her mother announces she will get remarried, and as if that wasn't enough, she finds herself attracted to her soon to be step-father's son, Kai Hiwatari.


**Some Kind of Wonderful**  
by: zulka  
rating: T  
notes: using Japanese names and this is an AU. Nothing belongs to me.

-x-

She really missed not having a container for sugar. It was unheard of, in her opinion at least. She needed some sugar and getting it right from the bag was annoying. She wondered when it was that she last had a container for sugar. Then she remembered that her mother had broken it, in one of her clumsy moments.

Her cereal was already soggy, and she wished she didn't have to add sugar to it but in reality, she just couldn't handle non-sweet cereal. Her mom hated the sweet stuff, considering her dad had loved it. She had to admit her mom was still bitter about the divorce, and even though she often remarked how _over_ it she was, she knew it was a complete lie.

"Never get married Hiromi." She had told her the last time she had gotten drunk. But her mom was a classy lady and drank nothing but wine and if she got drunk, she got drunk with grace and style. None of that tacky, tasteless wailing and falling off chairs, nope, definitely not.

As she turned to put back the sugar in the cabinet she noticed her cat was already investigating the new dark space. "No Socrates! Get out."

The cat merely looked at her before returning to sniff what was inside the cabinet. She pulled him out, and he protested, but then departed silently after that. She returned the sugar and looked at her cereal. It didn't look appealing. Takao on the other hand would find it delicious considering he loved soggy cereal. She on the other hand loved it fresh and crisp and crunchy. Shaking her head, she ate it anyways. _Disgusting._

As she walked back to her room, she saw her empty living room. It had remained unused since her dad moved out.

Her mom was not home, and she doubted she would come home anytime soon. She was probably off with her girlfriends having a good time in some restaurant. Because as her mom said, she was still young and just because she was a divorcee…well it didn't really _mean_ anything. She knew that it really hurt her mom that her dad left her for someone younger.

Though there were times when she wondered at her mom's maturity level because at the moment she was acting like a teenage girl and in all honesty that was supposed to be her job. Well, she supposed the household needed a responsible adult. Though she wondered what would happen once she left.

In any case, she had enough to keep her busy that evening. She was a good student, and not even the divorce got in the way of her grades.

-x-

There were a few things Hiromi noticed the next morning. As usual, Socrates, her cat, woke her up at four thirty in the morning by meowing and biting her feet. There were times when she hated him. As soon as she gave him his food and let him go outside she had gone back to bed. There was nothing wrong with that. She actually did that every day, even on Saturdays. Her mom could sleep through an earthquake. Not to mention her mom held no warm feelings towards the cat, after all it had been a gift from her father.

What was unusual that morning, however, was the fact that her mom woke up early and made pancakes. For a moment Hiromi thought the world was ending, or something along those lines, something life-altering. If anything, she was the one that always made her own breakfast. Her mom never cared to eat or wake up early enough, even when her dad was still around.

At the beginning she had missed her dad because no one made pancakes like him. If she was honest, she still did. He sent her emails often enough to keep her happy. He had invited her over many times, but she wasn't too fond of her step-mom. So, she often declined to visit him at his new home and often meet him at restaurants or coffee shops, it also didn't help that her mom had thrown a fit the first time and she continued to do so after, saying how Hiromi didn't love her anymore, which of course was ridiculous.

In any case, that morning her mom was happy. There was breakfast on the table. She was surprised to say the least. She wondered what had happened but realized halfway through her musings that she really didn't want to know. She shuddered at the thought of having an even younger step-dad. But then she remembered her mom was classy, she wouldn't degrade herself to that.

But what really made her hair stand on edge, was the fact that before she left for school she saw her mom actually acknowledging her cat and petting him. She wondered if she had woken up in an alternate universe. Maybe she still had a dad and her parents were together. She laughed at her own thought. That was stupid. No amount of hoping could bring them back together.

-x-

The following week was just as bizarre. She really thought she had fallen into some alternate reality. But seeing Takao and Max and how they were still the same made her realize that it just wasn't possible.

"So, your mom is being weird?" Takao raised an eyebrow. Takao didn't know much about parents, having grown up with just his grandpa, and his grandpa was an eccentric old man.

"Maybe she finally got over your dad leaving?" Max asked her. Max on the other hand lived with his dad, his parents were divorced as well, except in their case it had been work who had been the cause.

"I guess, but it's just so weird. The woman is acting strange, it kind of creeps me out." Hiromi frowned.

"You think she found someone?" Takao asked again as he ate his jello. He loved jello. He loved cafeteria food in general. Who was he kidding, he loved food period.

"I hope not." She answered looking offended.

"No offense Romi, but even though your mom is really weird, she deserves to be happy. You say that she's been miserable for the past six years. Now that is a long time to be unhappy." Takao told her before continuing to eat his green jello. He pointed to hers and she passed it over to him.

"I agree with Takao, maybe she did find someone. Just hope they don't have kids." Max told her as he watched Takao eat the green jello with something akin to disgust on his face. "Takao you forgot to put mayo on that."

Takao nearly threw up. Hiromi just sighed.

"No kids, yeah I guess, well if they're my age it shouldn't matter. Anyway, we are getting ahead of ourselves here. She probably just realized what a waste it is to feel unhappy and is changing for the better."

Takao and Max simply looked at one another, shared at look and then said in unison, "Your mom? We don't think so."

And Hiromi was afraid of that.

-x-

Three weeks later as she washed the dishes, her mom almost gave her a heart attack. She almost broke a bowl too.

"A dinner? Tomorrow?" She knew that her mom had been going on dates, it was obvious from the way she so carefully dressed and the perfume she wore, not to mention she took great care in applying her make-up.

Her mother nodded, happiness radiating off her and making her glow, or it could have been the highlighting powder. Hiromi wasn't quite sure.

"Yes, there is someone I want you to meet."

This Hiromi knew was no good. She thought about bringing her dad up but instead all she said was, "Really?"

"Yes."

'Well,' she thought, 'let's hope he doesn't have kids.'

"I'll need you to set the table for five."

It was then that she nearly dropped the bowl.

"Isn't this kind of fast?" She asked but when she turned back she realized her mom was gone.

'Great.'

-x-

She told Takao and Max the news first thing in the morning as they waited for the school bell to ring.

"So…does this mean you are moving to another school?" Takao asked quietly.

"No!" She said quite emphatically and then continued, "I'm not going anywhere. I don't even want to have dinner with them."

"You can hang out with Takao and me after school Romi." Max added helpfully.

"Unless she's expecting you to cook for the dinner?" Takao asked hesitantly before sharing a look with Max.

Hiromi played with the straps of her backpack and sighed. "Sometimes I hate her."

Takao shook his head at her, and she felt bad for a moment.

Max frowned, "You have to cook too?"

"I have to set the table." She answered as the bell rang. "I'll see you guys at lunch."

They waved good-bye to her before walking to their own class.

"You know, if Romi wasn't so hyper responsible, she would be able to skip the dinner tonight." Max said as they entered their history classroom.

"True. But you know Hiromi, she's responsible to a fault." Takao added.

-x-

That evening found her staring at her closet hopelessly. She was not happy about the way things were turning out.

Her closet was a mess. She didn't really feel like dressing up, but she figured she at least had to try and look decent; therefore, track pants were out of the question. Well, it wasn't like she was trying to impress anyone really. She had set the table already; she had not used the nice porcelain set because well—her mom had broken it in a fit of rage after the divorce. She figured her mom had imagined them to be the face of her dad's new love interest.

She sighed. She went with a pair of black jeans and a nice blouse. Again, she wasn't trying to impress anyone. Takao and Max had told her to keep them updated. She had agreed. Leaving her room, she found Socrates meowing for food. At least she could count on Socrates to remain unchanged.

She realized as she stared at her cat eat, that she was definitely not ready for this. Part of her wanted to flee into her room and not come out and she was about to do just that when the doorbell rang.

"Hiromi, please fix your hair." Her mother told her with a shining smile before going to open the door.

She frowned as she ran her hand through her hair. Her moment to escape was gone. Inhaling and exhaling she walked toward the front door. She had never felt more self-conscious than when she saw her mother greeting the man on the other side.

Such emotion and affection had once been directed at her father, not at some stranger. A part of her felt hurt and the other, well—she wasn't sure what it felt.

"Please come in."

She wanted to run again, she wanted to tap her shoes together and disappear. Unfortunately, she had forgotten to wear her ruby slippers.

She had to admit her mom had good taste; the man that walked in was better looking than her dad, obviously this man aged well. Her dad? Not so much. It was what came behind him that worried her. The little voice inside her head told her not to worry; after all, it was just dinner. But like Max and Takao had said, with her mom? She didn't think so. This was real. This dinner was important.

She was so lost in thought she hadn't realized the last two members had entered until her mother called her.

"Hiromi!"

She was met with all three strangers looking at her, talk about awkward, not the greatest first impression. But to be honest, she couldn't really open her mouth.

"Hiromi, I want to introduce you to Susumu Hiwatari and his two children, Kai and Mariam."

"Nice to meet you." She whispered.

-x-

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 **Old Notes:** Ha. It's been a while. This kind of wrote itself. Now how to work this around…hmmm. Any suggestions? Send them my way. They are welcomed. Thanks for reading.

 **2018:** The idea of Kai and Hiromi being possible siblings and finding each other attractive while Mariam freaked out about the possibilities was interesting to me. The idea of Mariam being Kai's sister was also interesting to me lol. This story has changed from the original and there will be no Salima in this after all. This story shouldn't be too long. Thanks for reading.


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